Alice Zeng—Junior Designer at If Communications
Congratulations on getting hired by your practicum placement! How's your first design job been so far?
Thank you! It’s been great! If is a really small and tightly-knit studio so I get to work on a lot of different types of projects that span a variety of mediums. I also get to do quite a few illustration projects in conjunction with design and branding which has been awesome! For someone who was torn for the longest time whether to go into design or illustration, being able to have a balance like that was essentially my dream back while I was in the program.
What are some of the more memorable highlights from your time at IDEA School of Design?
This sounds like a boring answer but honestly one of the biggest and most memorable highlights was our grad show right at the end. That feeling of finally being there at the finish line with all my peers that I’ve grown and evolved with over the last 4 years was so amazing and surreal. I remember being so proud of every one of my classmates for coming so far since that first day of 1st year.
What awards have you won?
What type of projects are you currently working on?
As mentioned earlier, because the team at If is so small, I get the chance to take part in a lot of projects, and a pretty wide range of them as well. So far I’ve worked on branding and advertising projects, directed a photo shoot, etc. Occasionally, I get to incorporate some illustration whether that is illustration for product packaging or concept storyboards for TV spots. There is also the occasional wacky project though, like that one time I spent a week honing my paper flower making skills.
Alice drew the storyboards for the following campaign that just launched.
“We can’t say enough great things about the IDEA program. We’ve been a huge supporter for years and have hired many of our outstanding designers from there.”
Where do you see yourself in the next few years?
Hard to say because it hasn’t been that long since I left school, so everything is still sunshine and rainbows to me, but know that I am enjoying what I’m doing so I hope that things continue this way!
If you could tell your pre-IDEA self one thing, what would it be?
This is something that I’m definitely still working on but, have more confidence in yourself and your work. If you are unsure about anything, don’t be afraid to pester your instructors and peers for help and advice, but also, different people have different opinions, so don’t feel like you have to follow everything that everyone tells you! Hang in there, I promise the workload gets easier in the real world.
For more on Alice Zeng, follow her on Insta @alicezzeng.
About If Communications
If Communications based in Lower Lonsdale, North Vancouver is a full service communications agency providing strategy, branding, advertising, design, packaging and digital under the banner of simple, powerful ideas.
